Imagine what you will be doing, who you will be hanging out with and how you will feel.

Can you do it?

If you found you could vividly imagine this you are connected to your future self. If you found it more difficult that’s understandable, 20 years is a very long time and a lot can happen.

We don’t really know how to predict the future, we can only make a guess based on our present. And yet we have to make decisions about our future selves all of the time. Should you look after yourself now to avoid health problems 10 years down the line? Will you be happy in 20 years if you marry your partner? Do you really want to cut your disposable income now to save for a pension? All of these are decisions that you have to make for your future self.

It turns out that we can predict how people will behave in the present based on how similar or dissimilar they feel to their future selves. For example, people who feel similar to their future selves are more likely to put off easy rewards now for bigger ones in the future (remember the Marshmallow Test? See link here) [1].

In fact, one group of researchers took this to extremes. They took pictures of participants and manipulated them so that they looked a lot older than they really were. They then put the participants in a virtual reality environment in which they looked in the mirror and saw either their present face or their older face. Afterwards, the participants did a monetary task in which they decided how much they would save for retirement. People who had seen the photo of their older selves saved a lot more than people who had seen their current photo [1].

Other research has shown that it’s not just about knowing that you will need something in the future but actually recognising that you have control over making it happen. People’s perception of the level of control they have over ageing, for example staying healthy and socially active, predicts how likely they are to plan financially for the future [2].

When it comes to decisions about the future it can be easy to put them off. “What will it matter if I hold off on starting a pension for another 5 or 10 years?” we say. Well actually it might make a big difference but if our future selves seem like distant other people it can be hard to feel empathy. If you’re a procrastinator when it comes to your pension why not try an exercise? Really try to imagine what you will be like in 20 years, what you will need and what you might regret doing or not doing that you have control over now.

And if you really need some external help upload a photo of yourself looking disappointed here: http://in20years.com/. Seeing your future self frowning at your present self might just spur you into action.

References

Hershfield, H. E. (2011). Future self‐continuity: how conceptions of the future self transform intertemporal choice. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1235(1), 30-43.

A small girl sits alone in a room. In front of her on the table sits a large, pink marshmallow.

She stares at it longingly.

Suddenly she reaches her hand out to it and then, with a sudden change of mind, pulls her hand back. She sits on both of her hands and stares uncomfortably at the marshmallow for another 10 minutes.

This scene played out in a small room in Stanford University in the 1960s where a psychologist called Walter Mischel tried out his new study [1]. Mischel and his team of researchers put a marshmallow in front of each child and told them that they could either eat it immediately or wait until the researcher returned in a few minutes at which stage they would get two marshmallows.

Some children waited and were rewarded. Other children just couldn’t stop themselves from eating the marshmallow.

This simple experiment is a test of what is called delayed gratification, the ability to hold off on something you want now in anticipation of a bigger reward later.

What is incredible about this research is that Mischel followed the children over five decades. The children who had delayed eating the marshmallow when they were 4 had much better willpower throughout their lives [2]. They had stronger academic scores, better social connections and were less susceptible to stress [1].

We can think of many situations where delayed gratification may apply. Do you forgo a night out in to study for your exam in anticipation of getting the job you want? Do you put in extra effort in work now to improve your chances of getting a promotion? Do you smoke one cigarette now or do you push through the craving?

Of course we all give in sometimes but generally speaking if you can delay gratification at least some of the time it will stand to you in what you want to achieve.

Ok so…what if you were the child who would have eaten the marshmallow?

There are techniques that we can use to improve our ability to delay gratification. The craving that you get for the cigarette or the marshmallow is part of the ‘hot’ system in your mind. This is when you think about how sweet and delicious the marshmallow will taste when you eat it. The ‘cool’ system is the more rational part of your mind that considers the long-term implications of eating it versus waiting [3].

You may be able to override the ‘hot’ impulse by thinking ‘cool’ thoughts. That may be actively thinking through the consequences before rushing into something, distracting yourself from the immediate reward or just imagining it in a more abstract way. Instead of thinking about how much you’d like to go to the pub now can you envision your disappointment if you fail the exam?

It might not always work but trying to stop the ‘hot’ system from taking over might just get you through the worst of the cravings until you’re rewarded with your two marshmallows.

What’s New in Version 1.2.0

We’ve added a new introduction sequence for first time Pip users.

This version incorporates My Pip – now you can access your My Pip dashboard from within the app.

PipHub now supports shared sign in for all your Pip apps: sign in or sign up to My Pip, choose to share your sign in info, and all your other Pip apps will use this info to automatically sign in. (Note: this feature requires that you update your Pip Apps to versions supporting shared sign-in).

We are happy and proud to announce the launch of Mandala Universe, the most recent addition to our suite of Apps, where you can relax while enjoying an outer space adventure (experience) with Piper, our co-captain onboard of your space ship. The captain? You are!

With Mandala Universe you embark on an experience that brings you to a new world of possibilities and adventure where friendly aliens help you unlock and navigate new and exciting galaxies while prompting you to use your Pip inner power to reach far and beyond in the quest to the ultimate state of relaxation (calm, nirvana

Researchers in Athlone Institute of Technology found that the Pip can be used to measure peoples’ emotional responses while using virtual reality headsets [1].

The study, “An evaluation of Heart Rate and Electrodermal Activity as an Objective QoE Evaluation method for Immersive Virtual Reality Environments”, had participants hold the Pip while they either viewed a city on a normal computer screen or navigated their way around a city using a virtual reality (VR) headset. Afterwards, they asked participants to rate their experience of the city including how much they enjoyed the experience, how difficult they felt it was, how immersed they were in it and how comfortable or uncomfortable they were with the whole experience.

They found that electrodermal activity (EDA), as measured by the Pip, could distinguish between those who played the VR game and those who played on the computer screen. This indicates that the Pip was a marker of the users’ emotional responses to playing the VR game. They also found that the more difficult users found the game the more their EDA changed meaning that the Pip could show when people were experiencing something difficult, demanding or perhaps stressful.

The paper was presented at the 8th International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience (QoMEX 2016) June 2016, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Today, we’re delighted to announce that research conducted by Trinity College Dublin found that using Pip can effectively reduce stress.

The study, “Smartphone applications utilizing biofeedback can aid stress reduction”, compared the use of the Pip’s companion Apps with a conventional gaming App with 50 university students. It concluded that using Pip significantly reduced the short-term psychological and physiological signs of stress. These findings were recently published in Frontiers of Psychology, a leading peer-reviewed psychology journal.

Research Findings

Researchers found that 30 minutes use of the Pip following a stress-induction procedure significantly reduced heart rate and perceived stress in a sample of 25 university students, compared to an equally-sized control group playing a conventional gaming App for the same time period. Specifically, using Pip’s companion Apps ‘Relax and Race’ and ‘The Loom’ for 15 minutes each reduced self-reported stress by 50% compared to 18% in the control group and heart rate by 8% compared to 2% in the control group.

According to Professor Ian Robertson, Chair of our Scientific Advisory Board and Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, the findings of this study have wide-scale implications.

‘The development of small wireless biofeedback devices, like the Pip, and biofeedback-based Apps gives people a window into their physical response to stress, helping them learn to control it. The findings of this study indicate this can reduce short-term stress.’

He further added that

‘While this study has shown that in the short term Pip was effective at reducing stress, we also know that people who regularly practice reducing stress can learn to reduce their stress response on demand.’

As a company, the science behind Pip is very important to us and we’ve taken an evidence based approach to it’s development. Research institutions and organisations around the world have been incorporating it into research studies and the publication of this study further validates Pip as an effective stress reduction tool.

You can view a video of Prof. Ian Robertson explaining the study here.

WIRED events are designed to cut through the noise and deliver insights into what’s coming next. Wired Health will take place in London on Friday 29th April. This one day summit will bring together thought leaders, innovators and senior health care providers to discuss the future of Healthcare.

We are delighted to have been invited back to participate in the Clinic, an exciting and innovative element of WIRED Health. The Clinic is a curated space, like a gallery, of brands hand-picked to showcase the latest innovations, products and technologies. It will allow attendees to interact and demo the future of health technology.

Today, we’re delighted to announce the launch of Clarity – the latest companion App for the Pip. Clarity makes learning to manage stress simple. Using short relaxation exercises and audio feedback Clarity will help you improve your focus and bring some calm into your busy life. Choose between guided and un-guided exercises and a selection of soundscapes, including a rainy day, a beach and urban park. With Clarity, your changing stress levels are translated into guiding sounds. When your mind wanders the sounds intensify and when you’re calm you’ll hear more peaceful sounds.

Body scanning – body scanning is a relaxation technique where you mentally scan your body, concentrating on one area at a time. Follow this exercise to let go of pent up stress and focus your attention

Mantra – mantras are repeated words or phrases that help bring you back to a calm state. Follow this exercise to help improve your calm, focus and mental clarity

Clarity syncs automatically with My Pip – your cloud platform for better living. With My Pip you have free access to easy-to-read charts and graphs, daily insights and real time feedback, showing you exactly during a Pip session when you were focussed and relaxing, or stressed and your mind is wandering.